The Defence Forces say there was no dangerous substance in a suspect package addressed to Justice Minister Alan Shatter.

The scene at Rathfarnham garda station has been declared safe after the alarm was raised by An Post workers at a nearby sorting office this morning.

The package was taken to Rathfarnham garda station and the army was called in to inspect it.

The station was evacuated for a time this morning while the alert was being dealt with.

This latest alert comes just a week after a package containing white powder and a swastika was sent to Mr. Shatter's home in Ballinteer

The package has now been taken away for tests.